If I stabbed him in the heart, I’d wake up back home, and I could go on with my old life—not that I really had a life to begin with. In the human world, I had to constantly hustle to get by. Now that Mark was dead, I’d have no one. Plus, what had happened to his body? Belial had taken his spine to make into a crown, but he had to have left the rest of the body there in the cemetery.
There’d be questions if I returned out of the blue with my boyfriend dead.
When Belial first showed me the exit on the cliff, I’d made my decision. I wanted to stay with him.
But things were different now.
I’d never forgive him for what he’d done… But could I still be his queen?
“If you don’t stab that dagger into my heart right now, you’ll have made your decision,” Belial warned in a low rasp, seeing the conflict in my eyes. “And you’ll never escape me again.”
As much as I resented him for tricking me, I’d made my choice. I’d given him my soul, and something told me I’d prefer the pain of a future as the Queen of Bones, or corpses or whatever my title would be, than the pain of returning to my meaningless human life.
My grip on the dagger loosened, and after what felt like an eternity, I released the breath I’d been holding and lowered the blade.
Belial got to his feet and reached to cup my cheek. “That’s my good girl. I knew you’d—”
I slapped him so hard across the face, the crack of flesh striking flesh echoed down the hall, nearly drowning out the collective gasp from the onlooking furniture and knick-knacks.
“I’m not yourgood girl, you asshole.”
Belial slowly slid his deadly glare back to me, his cheek bright red. A vein in his jaw ticked, but he said nothing as I continued my tirade.
“If I’m going to stay here, you better treat me like the goddamn queen I’m to be, Lord of Bones. Otherwise, this castle won’t be my prison. It will be yours.”
Raising the dagger, I placed the point at the hollow of his throat and donned his signature smirk. “Now, get back on your knees. I told you to beg for my forgiveness. If you don’t satisfy me, maybe I’ll stab you after all.”
Chapter Eight
Belial
I hadn’t officially crownedRayven yet, but here she was, already spouting demands like the queen she’d soon be. How could I not obey?
Keeping my eyes glued to my little human, I lowered myself to kneel at her feet.
I’d never submitted to anyone or anything, but here I was, giving over control to this not-so-delicate mortal female. That was one of the things I’d come to love about her. She breathed life into my cold and lonely existence.
She peered down at me with a thunderstruck look in her eye, as if she hadn’t expected me to obey. I couldn’t blame her. I almost didn’t.
But Rayven was right—she deserved some sort of retribution for what I’d done to her.
“You look good on your knees.” Her tone was hard, but her words were sheathed in velvet.
She looked at me like I was going to be her next meal. BleedingfuckingHells, no one ever looked at me like that. Not this face, not with these scars.
Pleasure burned through me as she licked her lips, her tongue swiping up the final traces of my blood. “Maybe I should make you crawl, like you did with me our first night together.”
The memory had me smirking, but it fell away with my hiss as she suddenly pressed the dagger’s point under my chin, forcing my head back as far as it would go. “But first, I’d like to hear you beg for my forgiveness.”
Her eyes stretched to the size of dinner plates as I leaned into the dagger, pushing the weapon’s tip into my skin enough to draw blood.
I could feel the warm liquid dribble down my chest.
Rayven’s dark eyes rounded as they trailed the wet beads descending my torso, soaking into the waist of my pants. By the rosy tint of her cheeks and the feminine scent filling my nose, she liked watching me bleed.
Twisted little thing. She really was perfect for me. “I’ll do more than beg, my treasure. I’llbleedfor you.”
I flattened my hands on the floor and slowly snaked them under the hem of her dress, grinning up at her as my fingers curved over her ankles. “I’ll tear down kingdoms for you. I’ll drape you in silver.”
